Assessing the Severity of Dorsal Pubic Pit Scarring on Human Female and Male Innominates, Based on Known Variables

Dorsal pubic pitting (DPP) occurs on the posterior side of the pubis bone in humans. The severity of DPP can range from shallow circular pits to deep valley-like ridges. Since DPP first appeared in the literature in 1931, there has been an assumed association between DPP and an individual's pregnancy status. Although this relationship is often debated among biological anthropologists, due to some studies reporting DPP on male innominates, the etiology of DPP remains unknown. Previous studies on dorsal pubic pits have used archaeological or anatomical documented skeletal collections that often have either an inferred or unknown parity status. This not only limits the data but also continues the unethical use of non-consensually collected skeletal remains. This research examined 180 innominates from modern documented skeletal collections to investigate if the severity of DPP is affected by an individual’s sex, parity status, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), age, or geographical location. The outcome of this study is a systematic scoring system that future researchers can use to standardize the recording and investigation of DPP. In total, the innominates of 59 males, 37 nulliparous females, 30 uniparous females, and 54 multiparous females between the ages of 29 and 103 were examined. DPP was observed in 3.4%, 32.4%, 40%, and 50% of these groups, respectively. To calculate the severity of DPP, the volume of the pitted area was measured and separated into four groups using the Jenks Natural Breaks method. These four groups, 1-4, along with 0 representing no DPP, created the outline for the systematic scoring system. Using nonparametric statistical analysis, the relationship between the donors’ demographic traits and the severity of DPP was tested. An individual’s parity status, sex, number of births, and height were found to have a statistically significant relationship with the severity of DPP. Although the severity of DPP does increase with the number of births, the high number of nulliparous females with DPP suggests that there is a separate sex-related cause of DPP, which parity status does not cover.